


Koala Hugs

by HooleQuinn



Category: Avengers Assemble (Cartoon)
Genre: Attempt at Humor, Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff, M/M, Tony Stark Gets a Hug, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:55:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25673941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HooleQuinn/pseuds/HooleQuinn
Summary: After a difficult day, Tony just wants to be held. Steve is perfectly happy to oblige. Too bad he kept needing to get up...
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 26
Kudos: 149





	Koala Hugs

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by Icy who wrote a ficlet over on the AA Discord server that featured Steve carrying Tony while he held onto him like a koala. I loved that concept so I took that element and ended up writing this snuggle/cuddle fic. 
> 
> Italicized dialogue indicates whispering, since it goes on for extended time.
> 
> Thanks to [Stonygirl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stonygirl/pseuds/Stonygirl) for doing a [Chinese translation](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25877560)!

Steve Rogers was sitting in the middle of a couch in the common area of Avengers Tower, reading a book Sam had loaned him. An actual paperback book! While Steve did have e-books stored on his StarkPad, he always liked reading actual books. It grounded him in a way, reminding him that some things from his past were still around. It was quiet that day. Surprisingly, no one else seemed to be around, the other Avengers all seemingly scattered to parts of the Tower unknown. Until out of the corner of his eye Steve saw Tony Stark come in and make his way over to him. Tony was dressed as if he had just come from his workshop, in a black T-shirt and jeans. Tony had a tired expression on his face and just looked spent. Without saying a word, Tony grabbed the book out of Steve’s hands.

“Hey, I was reading that, you know.” Steve protested.

“Relax, I’ll give it back in a second.” With that, Tony sat down on Steve’s lap, facing him, with his legs straddling Steve’s hips. True to his word, Tony put the book back in Steve’s right hand, still open at the page Steve was reading. Usually a position like this meant Tony was looking to start a make-out session, maybe more, but this time he buried his face in Steve’s chest. It was not quite a conventional hug, as his hands were latched onto Steve’s shoulders like a koala.

Well. Okay. This was new, though not unpleasant. Steve brought his left arm around Tony, his right hand still holding the book.

“Rough day?” Steve asked.

“Mmph _._ ” Came Tony’s muffled response.

Taking that as a yes, Steve tried pressing further. “Anything you want to talk about?”

After a moment Tony lifted his head. “Later,” he said before burying his face back in Steve’s chest.

Steve’s mind reeled with possibilities. A rough day for Tony could mean any number of things. A frustrating day at the office, tech upgrades not working, or someone from the government or SHIELD breathing down his neck. Or it could just be Tony being dramatic.

“You’re not in any trouble or anything are you?”

Tony lifted his head again. “I promise there’s no emergency and it’s nothing that will affect the team. I swear I’ll tell you later, but for now, just hold me, okay?”

“Of course,” Steve replied as Tony put his head back down. His concerns were temporarily satisfied. They were both trying to work on having more open communication, so for now, Steve decided to trust that Tony wasn’t hiding or downplaying anything.

They sat that way together on the couch, Steve continuing to read his book one-handed while holding onto Tony with the other. Meanwhile Tony remained uncharacteristically quiet, still using his ‘koala-hold’ on Steve. It was peaceful until Steve realized something. He needed to get up, and soon. Having not spoken for some time, Steve hoped Tony hadn’t fallen asleep. Tony had since turned his head so his face was no longer implanted in Steve’s chest, but Steve couldn’t fully see Tony’s face from this angle. He cleared his throat.

“Um, Tony?”

“Mmm?” was Tony’s eloquent response. So at least he was awake. 

“I, uh, need to use the restroom.”

Tony gave a deep sigh. “You have no idea how comfortable I am right now.”

“You’re going to have to let me up soon or else we’re going to have a Situation. I promise I’ll be right back,” Steve said as he kissed the top of Tony’s head.

Tony reluctantly rolled off his lap and sat next to him on the couch. “I’m holding you to that, Steve”

“Five minutes. You can time me.” Tony gave a nod in response. Steve took care of his business as quickly as he could and made a detour to their bedroom. He grabbed a throw quilt from the bed and went back to the common area. When he came back Tony looked slightly more alert, absentmindedly paging through Steve’s book.

“You’re late,” Tony said without looking up.

“Sorry. I had to make a quick stop.” At that, Tony looked up and noticed the quilt Steve had draped over his arm.

“What’s that for?” Tony asked.

“You’ll find out,” Steve replied as he sat back down in the same spot. He unfolded the quilt and opened his arms. “Are we doing this?”

Not needing to be asked twice, Tony dropped the book on the couch and sat back on Steve’s lap, resuming the same position he had before. “You’re like a heated pillow. A firm heated pillow,” he said as his hands again grabbed onto Steve’s shoulders.

“And you’re like a koala.”

“I’m gonna get you for that, Rogers. At some point when you least expect it.”

Steve chuckled and draped the quilt around Tony before wrapping his left arm back around him. His right hand tried to find the page in the book where he left off before picking it back up. They were content for a time until once again Steve’s body decided to rebel against the situation. Steve’s stomach let out a growl and he realized he hadn’t had any dinner yet. He threw his head back against the couch in exasperation.

“Tony?”

No response this time. Steve gently shook Tony and repeated his name. Still no answer. Steve had to assume that Tony had fallen asleep. Must’ve been the quilt that did it.

Ok, so now what? He had a few options, all of which had the potential to wake Tony up. Seeing as how the man rarely got enough sleep as it was, Steve wanted to avoid that. He could suck it up and continue exactly as they were, risking having Tony wake up due to his increasingly growling stomach. He knew he could easily carry Tony to the communal kitchen, but the movement could wake him, plus it would be hard trying to get food with Tony in his arms. He could try to gently coax Tony off his lap and onto the couch, but that didn’t seem feasible either. The path of least resistance seemed to be to get JARVIS to get someone to bring food to him.

“JARVIS,” Steve said in a hushed voice, instinctively looking at the ceiling, “are any of the other Avengers available?” He was hoping either Sam or Natasha could help him out, since he knew neither of them would make a fuss about it, nor were they prone to making a lot of noise.

“Mr. Barton does not appear to be occupied,” the AI replied.

While Clint wasn’t Steve’s first choice, it was either enlist his help or fend for himself. “If I had you order some pizza, could you tell Clint to collect it when it arrives and bring it here?”

“Certainly.”

Steve told JARVIS what he wanted, and the AI sent the order through, presumably also informing Clint that Steve needed his assistance. Having taken care of his sustenance, Steve went back to his book. It wasn’t the healthiest dinner ever, but Steve could feel guilty about it later.

After about half an hour, Clint came into the common area, carrying a small stack of pizza boxes and sounding annoyed. “Alright,” he began at a normal volume as he came in, “what’s so important that you can’t get your own-" Clint stopped short at the sight of Steve holding Tony in his lap, nearly dropping the pizza stack. Steve pressed a finger to his lips to tell Clint to keep his voice down.

Clint shook himself out of his stunned position and set the pizza boxes down on the coffee table in front of Steve.

“ _What the hell_?” Clint whispered, “ _What are you-? Why are you-? You know what? No. I don’t want to know. Why am I always the one to walk in on stuff like this?_ ”

“ _Must be lucky I guess_ ,” Steve whispered back, amused at Clint’s sputtering. “ _Can I count on you to keep quiet about this_?” Steve didn’t care who saw, but he wasn’t sure how comfortable Tony would be with any of the others seeing him in this vulnerable position.

“ _Steve, I’m insulted_ ,” Clint said, continuing the low volume discussion, “ _I can keep a secret! Trust me, I don’t want to spend time reliving the memories by spreading things like this around_."

“ _Well I guess if SHIELD can trust you so can I_ ,” Steve smirked. “ _Oh, one more thing, could you bring me some plates? Tony might want some pizza when he wakes up_.”

“ _Just for that, I’m taking some pieces for me."_ To his credit, Clint tried to be as quiet as he could while rummaging around the kitchen for paper plates. He returned and set a small stack of plates next to the pizza boxes. “ _There, I even brought napkins too,_ ” he said as he set those down near the plates. “ _Now will there be anything else? Did you want drinks? Maybe I should fluff the couch cushions? Adjust the window shades?_ ”

Steve grinned. “ _No that’s it. Thanks, Clint, I appreciate it_.”

“ _The things I have to put up with,_ ” Clint teased as he grabbed a couple pieces of pizza from the top box before leaving.

As soon as Clint left, Steve heard a voice.

“If he so much as breathes a word of this to anyone, doing the Hulk’s laundry will be the least of his problems.”

He cringed. So much for his attempts to make sure Tony stayed asleep. “Sorry,” Steve said as Tony lifted his head only to stare at him with an eyebrow raised. “I was trying not to wake you up.”

Tony waved him off. “It’s not your fault. I put you in an awkward position. Literally.” Tony got off Steve’s lap and sat down on the couch, letting the quilt he was under fall to the floor.

“It’s fine, Tony. I didn’t mind.” To be honest Steve was glad they had reached this level of understanding and that Tony felt comfortable enough to let Steve see him that way.

Tony gave a small smile in gratitude and then turned his attention to the pizza, opening all the boxes. “Let’s see what you got here, I just remembered I haven’t eaten anything today.”

“Tony…” Steve said, disapprovingly.

“Hey, I told you I had a rough day.” Tony replied as he grabbed a slice & took a bite.

“Actually, you didn’t, I just guessed that you did. You did agree to tell me what was bothering you though.”

Tony paused mid-chew. “I did, didn’t I?” He said through a mouthful of pizza. He finished chewing before continuing. “Right. Open communication and all that. Okay, Steve, pay attention. It's story time...”

**Author's Note:**

> Here's the link if you wanna join the AA Discord server :) [You Lead, I'll Follow](https://discord.gg/Rq5Ha6Q)


End file.
